


Picnic on the Schuylkill

by as_with_a_sunbeam



Category: 18th Century CE RPF, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: 1791, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Kite-flying, Picnics, Spring, Tree Climbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 18:31:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10645599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/as_with_a_sunbeam/pseuds/as_with_a_sunbeam
Summary: When President Washington holds a picnic to try to bring together his fracturing staff, Hamilton ends up spending most of the day entertaining the children and being a terrible influence on his wife. As they say, it's all fun and games until someone is falling out a tree.Just sweet Hamilton family fun.





	Picnic on the Schuylkill

Bright spring sunshine created a dazzling sparkle on the river and made the new green buds of leaves and pink and purple blossoms on the trees seem particularly vivid. A squeal of children’s laughter drew Eliza’s eye. She grinned when she spotted her husband surrounded by little figures down by the water. Philip, Angelica, Fanny and Alex were all with him, as were the President’s grandchildren, Nelly and Washy. Only James was missing from the group, as they had left the two year old home with his nurse. Hamilton had removed his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves, she noted. He and Washy both had wooden swords, and they appeared locked in battle.

The clatter of a dish drew her attention away from the scene. The picnic table was surrounded with ladies and servants setting places for all the guests. This event had been the President’s idea to pull his slowly fracturing cabinet back together. At least, that was how Alexander explained it to her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mrs. Washington,” Eliza apologized as she approached the grand First Lady of their country. As much as she enjoyed watching the domestic scene along the riverbank, she ought to be doing something useful. “Let me help you.”

“Oh, nonsense, my dear,” Mrs. Washington replied. “I have plenty of help.”

“Why don’t you go join your husband down by the water. He seems to be having a splendid time,” Mrs. Knox suggested as she efficiently laid out silverware along the picnic table. “We won’t be eating for a while, yet.” 

Eliza hesitated. All the other ladies were either helping set up their picnic or sitting primly as they conversed over sweet tea. Of course, the rest of the men were also seated or standing around the President, discussing what appeared to be serious matters of state. Well, if her husband didn’t feel bound by the rules of decorum today, why should she?

“Yes, I think I will. Thank you, ma’am,” Eliza said with a smile.

The children were all laughing, the cheerful sound growing louder as Eliza made her way across the grass towards the group. Her husband was laughing as well, she noticed. The sounds of joy from her family made her heart swell.

As she approached, Alexander looked up, caught her eye, and grinned. The moment of distraction cost him dearly. Washy thrust his wooden sword into Alexander’s abdomen, letting out a whoop of victory. Alexander grunted, bending forward in what was likely real discomfort, before he fell to the ground and proceeded with dramatic death throes. The children looked on with pure delight.

Philip scooped the wooden sword from the grass where Alexander had dropped it. “I’ll avenge you, Papa!” he cried, rushing at the President’s grandson.

“Never!” Washy shouted back, peeling with laughter as he raced down the embankment. Angelica took off at a run after her brother. Four year old Alex and five year old Fanny lagged behind her, but they seemed determined to keep up.

Nelly hesitated, looking down at Alexander shyly. “Are you well, Colonel Hamilton?”

“Quite well, my dear,” Eliza heard him assure the girl. “Thank you.”

He winked at Nelly, who blushed a deep crimson and ran off after the other children. Eliza smiled at the reaction. Nelly, now eleven, had developed the innocent crush recently. Mrs. Washington had told Eliza about it over tea a few months ago with a wide smile. “I worry about her taste in men,” Mrs. Washington had teased.  

Alexander sat up, watching the gaggle of children run with a big smile, before he heaved himself off the ground and collected his jacket, folded neatly nearby. He walked over to her, stopping very close in front of her and tipping his head down. Eliza immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him.

“Having fun, sweetheart?” she asked.

He nodded. “Much more than I would be sitting with those grim creatures,” he replied, nodding his head to the group of government men still engrossed in conversation. “Who discusses trade policy at a picnic?”

Eliza shook her head and kissed him again. After, she craned her head to look down at his back. “You have grass stains on your shirt, now.”

He shrugged. “They’ll wash.”

“Did that sword hurt?” she asked, placing her palm against his middle where she’d seen the sword dig in to him.

He laughed. “You know, it really did. That was quite the thrust. I wouldn’t like to be on the wrong side of a battle with that young man in a few years’ time.”

She embraced him again.

He rubbed her back, then suggested, “Why don’t we sit on the grass for a bit? I don’t want to go back up there until absolutely necessary.”

“There’s no blanket,” Eliza frowned. She was wearing a light colored dress that was likely to look just like the back of her husband’s shirt if she sat directly on the grass.

He rolled his eyes and pulled her down to sit with him.

“You seem to be on a mission to ruin all of our clothes by the end of the day,” Eliza scolded him half-heartedly. She normally wouldn’t mind, but she didn’t relish the looks the other ladies (particularly the severe Mrs. Adams) were likely to give her when she went back to the picnic covered in stains.

Alexander settled just behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She relaxed back against him, enjoying the picturesque landscape and the sweet smell of grass. Her eyes tracked along the riverbank until she spotted the children. The swords had been abandoned in favor of some other game, she noted absently.

“This is turning into a nice little outing,” Alexander noted. “We should go picnicking more often.”

“I would picnic with you every day, my darling, if it would draw you from your desk.”

He chuckled and pressed a kiss against her temple. “I would much rather be picnicking with you than working all the time, if that makes you feel any better.”

Eliza wrinkled her nose and twisted a little to look up at him. “Not really.”

“Me, either,” he replied. He flashed her a charming smile.

They went back to watching the children. Within minutes Alexander had burst out in a fit of laughter. He pointed to their four year old, who had broken away from the group and was now spinning in a circle with his arms out. “What is he doing?”

Eliza smiled, then let out a laugh as well when Alex came to an abrupt stop and landed squarely on his bottom in the grass.

“I love our babies,” her husband declared through his laughter.

“Papa!” Angelica’s high voice suddenly called out. “Papa, may we fly the kite now?”

“I don’t think there’s enough wind for a kite, honey,” Alexander called back.

“Couldn’t we try, Papa? Please?”

Alexander sighed. “ I told you this would happen if you gave me a girl,” he muttered to her. Eliza laughed, remembering the sweet letter he had sent her nearly a decade ago, now, when she had been pregnant with Philip. He wanted a boy, he’d said, because a girl would have her looks and his caprice, and thereby would enslave the whole of the male sex.

“Yes, all right,” he added at full voice. “Let’s try.”

The children all gave excited whoops and came running back towards them. Alexander pulled away from her to get up again, then reached down to give her a hand up as well. He frowned in thought and asked, “We did bring a kite, right?”

“It’s up in the picnic basket,” Eliza answered.

He made a face at the thought of rejoining their party. “Will you come with me to fetch it?”

“Of course,” she agreed easily.

“We’ll be right back,” he called over to the children. “We need to go get the kite.”

Eliza took his arm as they trekked back up the hill towards the party. Her eye caught Mrs. Adams’s, and sure enough the woman looked appalled at the state of the couple approaching. Eliza looked away and caught Mrs. Washington’s eye.

“You two seem to be having a wonderful time,” Mrs. Washington said with a motherly smile. “It does me good to see my grandchildren so entertained.”

“This is a beautiful spot. It’s nice that the children have space to run and play,” Eliza replied.

“They want to fly a kite,” Alexander added.

“How delightful!” Mrs. Knox exclaimed. “I love kites! We should all come down to watch.”

“I’m not sure it will leave the ground, ma’am, but you are welcome to watch the attempt,” Alexander invited.

“Henry! Escort me down to the river. Mr. Hamilton is going to help the children fly a kite,” Mrs. Knox bellowed.

Eliza smiled as she watched the men slowly emerging from their conversation. Alexander squeezed her hand to get her attention. “Which basket is it?”

“Oh. This one, I think.” She pulled open the top and spotted the long, ribbon dotted kite tail peeking out from under their picnic blanket. “Yes. Here it is.”

“So, we are going to watch you fly a kite?” President Washington’s deep voice suddenly came from behind them. Eliza jumped a little in surprise as she turned back to find him standing close by with a closed-lipped smile.

Alexander didn’t seem fazed in the least by the President’s sudden appearance. “I think you’re going to watch me running and dragging a kite on the ground, but either way it should be entertaining,” he replied mildly.

Washington gave a soft chuckle as Mrs. Washington came over to join her husband.

“The children are certainly putting you to work, my dear boy,” Mrs. Washington noted. “Look at the state of your back.”

Alexander craned his neck to try to look down his back, then shrugged again. “Your grandson slayed me in battle earlier. I’m afraid grass stains were an unavoidable consequence.”

Mrs. Washington gave a chuckle, but Eliza noticed the mirth fell from the President’s face. Washington reached out to place a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Having twice been informed of your demise during the war, once in this very river, I’d appreciate you not making light of such a thing, my boy,” he said softly.

Alexander scoffed. “That was hardly my fault. Also, one of those wasn’t from battle.”

“Yes, being informed you had perished from fever was much better,” Washington replied.

Alexander smiled at him. His eye tracked to the side and he laughed. “My goodness, has everyone gone down to watch?”

“I believe we all needed a little excitement. Mr. Madison has been speaking on trade policy for nearly an hour,” Washington commented.

Alexander laughed again.

They walked down towards the river as a group. The children quickly surrounded Alexander, and Eliza broke away to go stand with Mrs. Washington and the President. She smiled as she watched her husband give each child a job to do, even if was just checking to be sure the ribbons were secure on the tail. They each went about their appointed tasks enthusiastically. At last, he determined the kite was ready to fly.

Philip had the honor of holding the string. “Just keep a good hold of it, son,” Alexander directed. “I’ll run with it, and see if I can catch a breeze properly.”

Alexander looked over at her as he said this and gave her a comically exaggerated worried expression.

 Then, in front of the President, Vice President, assembled cabinet members and various congressmen, her husband took off at a sprint with the kite held aloft. He let go when the kite caught a breeze, but it wasn’t quite strong enough. The kite nosedived to the ground.

The children groaned, but Alexander held up a hand. “It’s all right. We’ll try again,” he assured them, retrieving the kite and brushing it off carefully.

They repositioned. Again, Alexander took off running. Another breeze caught the kite. It floated up, and up, and up. A smattering of applause followed, to which her husband gave a regal bow.

“Our dear Secretary Hamilton certainly knows how to have a picnic,” Mrs. Knox commented, shielding her eyes with her hand so she could watch the kite floating in the air.

“I think he’s as excited as the children to be having a proper run around,” Eliza said, watching fondly as Alexander assisted the children with properly reeling the kite string.

“That boy has always worked too hard,” Mrs. Washington noted. “I was so glad when you two fell in love. I knew you’d take proper care of him.”

Eliza blushed a little and smiled.

Most of the party began to return to the tables now that the excitement was over. Alexander looked up and waved her over. “Would you like a turn, Betsey?” he called.

Eliza made her way towards him, but shook her head.

“Look, Mama,” Alex said, reaching his chubby little arm up to point to the kite. “It’s flying.”

“I see, sweetheart,” she smiled. “Very impressive for a day with low wind speeds.”

“Why, thank you,” Alexander grinned.

“May I have a turn?” Washy asked.

Alexander ruffled Philip’s hair. “What do you say, Pip?”

Philip glanced up at his father and nodded. “Here you go,” he said, passing the string over to Washy.

“I want a turn,” Angelica added.

“And me,” Nelly said quickly.

“Everyone will have a turn,” Eliza assured the girls.

The kite stayed aloft long enough for each of the children to have a turn guiding it. They soon began to run with the string, laughing as the kite tail danced in the air. The fun ended when an abrupt gust of wind blew the kite into a nearby tree.

“It’s almost time for dinner, anyway,” Eliza said in response to the disappointed grumbling.

“We’ll get it down later,” Alexander assured them.

They walked back towards the picnic once more. Alexander pulled on his jacket as they walked back and ran his hand over his queue. “There’s no grass in my hair, is there?” he asked.

Eliza leaned over to inspect the sandy strands and shook her head. “No, you are once more the dignified Treasury Secretary.”

He wrinkled his nose at her, this time. She laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

The food was, of course, delicious, although Eliza was disappointed to be seated at the other end of the table from her husband. The children were seated at their own table away from the adults. They so rarely spent quality time as a family of late, with Alexander so busy with work. Today had been a welcome surprise.

“Have you heard from your sister recently?” Mr. Jefferson asked her as he carefully cut into his meal across from her.

“Angelica?” she asked, although she had no doubt to which sister he was referring. At his nod, she continued, “Yes. I received a letter just last week. She and her family are well.”

“That is good to hear. She was one of my dearest companions during my time in England,” Jefferson told her, for perhaps the hundredth time.

The steady conversation continued throughout the meal. Eliza was just picking through a selection of berries placed before her by a servant when a swell of laughter from down the table caught her attention.

“Well, you are much taller than me, sir. I thought you might have better luck,” Alexander was commenting.

President Washington had his fist to his mouth, but his shoulders were shaking as they did when he laughed. No one could elicit as much merriment from Washington as her husband. Eliza’s eyes flickered over to Mr. Jefferson across from her, and she observed him frowning into his strawberries.

She missed Washington’s response, but Alexander was standing from the table when she looked back. “Speaking of dignity in office,” he remarked, “I have to go climb a tree to get my kite back. Please excuse me.”

The laughter swelled again from the people seated near the President.

Alexander walked around the table and stopped beside her. “Secretary Jefferson, I hope you won’t mind if I steal away your dinner companion?”

“But of course, Secretary Hamilton,” Jefferson replied with a polite nod.

Alexander held out his hand to her. “Would you be so good as to assist me, my dear?”

Eliza happily stood and began to walk beside him away from the table once more. Once they were out of earshot of the party, Alexander gave a groan. “That is a grave bunch. This is supposed to be a social outing. They spent over an hour on trade earlier, and then over dinner it was all I could do to steer the conversation away from banking.”

“They’re eager to speak with you on important issues,” Eliza said as she squeezed his arm lightly.

“They’re eager to fight with me,” Alexander corrected. “I get quite enough of that while I’m working. I don’t need it at social functions as well.”

“Well, we’ve escaped to reclaim the kite,” she assured him.

They arrived at the proper tree some minutes later. The tail of the kite was dangling near one of the lower branches, but the lowest branch that could hold a person’s weight was a bit out of reach. Examining the tree for a moment, her husband suggested, “What if I boost you up?”

Eliza sighed. “It’s been some time since I’ve climbed a tree, sweetheart.”

“Whereas I do so regularly?” he asked lightly. She chuckled.

“No, I suppose not.” She looked down at her dress, already stained from the grass earlier, and shrugged. What was a little more damage?

Alexander placed his hands low on her hips and lifted her up. She strained her arms as he adjusted to hold her around the legs so he could boost her higher. At last, she caught the tree limb. Her feet scrambled at the tree bark before they found her husband’s shoulder. She used him as a foothold as she pulled herself up, ignoring his grunt of discomfort.

Once in the lowest branch, the tree was a surprisingly easy climb. She’d done this with some frequency in her younger days when her family spent time at their Saratoga estate. The chance to clamber up sturdy branches once more was unexpectedly enjoyable.

“Please be careful!” Alexander called up after her as she inched out away from the trunk towards the dangling kite tail.

“I’m fine, honey,” she called down to him.

Balancing carefully, she stretched towards the tail and managed to grab hold of it. She gave it a few tugs and the kite came free, tumbling down towards the ground.

“Well done, Betsey,” Alexander praised.

She moved back towards the trunk and began to slowly lower herself down. She made it back to the lowest branch, then suddenly felt her foot slip. Her hands scraped over the tough bark as she scrambled for a hold.

Alexander gallantly caught her as she tumbled down from the tree, but the speed of her descent caused him to fall backwards as well. She landed hard on top of him. She winced as she felt her elbow land hard against his midsection.

Quickly rolling off, she asked, “Are you all right?”

He coughed and pushed himself up on his elbow. He held up a hand as he sucked in a deliberate breath. Though he looked a little sick, he seemed to fight the sensation down, and at last he smiled at her. “Sorry. Your elbow caught me right in the stomach.”

“Thank you for catching me,” she said.

“Well, I did convince you to climb up there in the first place. It was the least I could do.” He sat up all the way and looked her over. “Oh, honey, your hands.”

She looked down. Her palms were badly scraped from trying to grab hold of the branch. Her right hand was bleeding a little. Now that she’d taken notice, the sting seemed to grow worse.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked.

She took stock of her body, and shook her head. The only other damage seemed to be some rips in her dress.

Alexander pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. Gently taking her right hand, he tied the handkerchief around like a bandage to stop the bleeding.

“I suppose that was why Mama always used to scold me for climbing trees,” she said thoughtfully.  Alexander laughed and leaned in to kiss her.

“I’m glad you’re not too hurt,” he told her.

“No lasting damage,” she assured him.

He scooted back to lean against the tree trunk.

“You don’t think we should head back?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No. Let’s hide out here a little longer. You’re the only person at this function with whom I wish to spend time, besides the children, of course.”

Eliza smiled and scooted over to sit beside him. “I hope Mrs. Adams leaves before we get back,” she said after a moment of silence. “I shudder to think what her reaction will be if she sees me.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Adams are fine people, and I respect them greatly,” Alexander said, “but I have never met a pair of greater curmudgeons.”

Eliza let out a shocked laugh. “Alexander!”

“No, wait, I take that back. Mr. Madison might be worse,” he amended.

“Stop,” she insisted.

“Even President Washington laughs more than those three.”

“For you, perhaps. But that’s because he loves you,” Eliza explained.

“Who doesn’t love me? I’m delightful.” He grinned at her.

“And so modest,” she added.

He laughed. “Exactly.”

Eliza snuggled close to his side and sighed in contentment. Even if she did have to face Mrs. Adams’s disapproval in a few minutes, and despite the minor scrapes and bruises they'd both managed to incur, she couldn’t imagine a better day than this one.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a pretty long, plot-less piece of fluff, but I thought it was fun. It was inspired by reading something from one of Hamilton's children where they mentioned he used to fly kites and play marbles with them. As a side-note, I really do love Abigail Adams, but she struck me as the woman least likely to approve of Eliza and Hamilton having a good time :)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! As always, thanks for reading, and feedback is very much appreciated!


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